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Divergent (Divergent #1)

by Veronica Roth (Goodreads Author)

4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 · rating details · 294,511 ratings · 34,132 reviews

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote th...more

Paperback, 487 pages

Published May 3rd 2011 by HarperCollins Children's Books

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Best Apocalyptic or Post-Apocalyptic YA Fiction

4th out of 158 books — 494 voters

Best Dystopian Novel of All-Time

4th out of 76 books — 203 voters

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Feb 04, 2013 Marg K. rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-star-rating

Original Review Date: June 22, 2011

Prior to reading Enclave, I had already set the bar of expectations pretty low for dystopian YA fiction. Afterwards, I reset it to about a foot off the ground. Therefore, all Divergent had to do in order to get into my good graces was a little hop right over to the other side. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, right? Obviously not 'cos Divergent aimlessly stumbled about, tripped over its own feet, and then proceeded to face plant into the ground like a drunken frat bo...more

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Feb 25, 2011 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, dystopias-post-apocalyptic, 2011, series-dropped-lost-steam, ala-ya-2012, b

As seen on The Readventurer

We all know why Divergent was written. There is no doubt 99% of dystopias published during the last year or so have been trying to at least partially replicate the success of the trilogy. Public wants to read more dystopian stories, publishers want to sell them, authors want to write them. Everyone is happy.

I have read a few new dystopias recently and liked or disliked them to various degrees. There are dystopias for any taste, dystopias that emphasize separate aspect...more

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May 03, 2012 karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dysto-teque, why-yes-i-ya

i need to make something perfectly clear. i am well aware that i gave 4 stars to Daughter of Smoke and Bone. and i am giving 5 stars to this one.

the world is a tough and inconsistent sphere.

because Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a much much better written book. it's no contest. she is lush and lyrical and there is a gravity to her writing that makes you stop every so often to murmer "well said, laini taylor, well said..."

this book is just fun.
fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun

this is unexpected pil...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Nataliya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads

Heh. I'm torn now. I eyerolled so much while reading this book that I may have permanently damaged at least some of my cranial nerves. And yet I read it in one sitting, annoyingly and inexplicably entertained. Go figure.

There just may have been some facepalming as well.

It's yet another young adult dystopia based on a stupid premise. Seriously, it's plainly ridiculous. If I had to compare it to something equally ridiculous it'd have to be the notion of sparkly vampires. I'm not kidding. Just list...more

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view all 65 comments

Jessica Except the part where you kind of dissed HP. Yes, I know I'm late, but I'm in love with Harry Potter.
May 06, 2013 05:19pm

Nataliya Jessica wrote: "Okay, it is official. I may not know you, but you're too awesome. Just wanted to make that clear. Anyway, onto my constructive comment...more
May 06, 2013 05:46pm

Jun 08, 2012 Elle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-read, baddass-leading-ladies, dystopia-and-sci-fi, first-of-series, good-covers, made-me-think, made-of-awesome, own-read, elles-reviews, 2012-read

There comes a time in every average, misunderstood, flat chested, never-been-kissed, pre-war heroin, sixteen year old girl's life when she must decide between right and wrong.

Yes. RIGHT and WRONG.

Not Harry and Sam. Or Harry and Mike. Or, frak help us, Harry, Sam AND Mike. No no. In Divergent, Good, Evil and Tris are our love triangle. How utterly refreshing.

Now, don’t get me wrong. You will find your standard amount of PG-rated teen romance in this book. Check it:

Oh, eh... Wrong book. My bad.

But...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Hannah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, too-awful-for-words, ya

THE SEVEN STAGES OF READING HELL: When You Realize You're Going to be the Odd Man Out (Once Again) With a Wildly Hyped and Popular Book that Everyone Else Loved

as Presented by:
The Coterie of Emotive Kittehs (courtesy of Google Images)

December 13, 2011

Page 30:

Page 77:

Page 145:

Page 270:

Page 354:

Page 404:

Page 475:

Final Analysis of my Reading Experience:

(What? You didn't think I was going to show a kitteh with a knife in its eye, did you?)

Rating: A (Very) Generous 1 Star

The Moral of this Review:
I sh...more

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May 02, 2012 Stephen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, audiobook, ebooks, science-fiction, ya, world-in-the-shitter, romantical

This book’s sobriquet should be "the comeback kid" because its final rating of 3 solid stars required it to overcome a seriously frustrating first half that had me ready to do great violence to it.

Before I expound on the redemptive, grace/face/rating saving virtues of second half of the book, I need to ~~rant~~ vent a bit regarding what turned my hackles all red and puffy.

THE SIN:

I am a SF dystopian connoisseur and I love a well-conceptualized “world in the shitter” set up. I am happy if the autho...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Wigs rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What kind of ridiculous mess...

Oh man.

So I know I say this in dissenting opinion, as many on my friends list are partial to this book, but I could not stand it. So before I go off on my tirade, I must explain. You may be thinking to yourself why I gave it two stars and not one, if I’m complaining so much. Let me explain that two is pretty low on my scale. Two is “why did I buy this.” Or read this. Or whatever. One star is dramatic. One is “this should not have been written,” which I have given o...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Kat Kennedy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, kat-s-book-reviews, leaves-awesomeness-behind

Today I almost attacked a man in public. A man who was yelling at and abusing his partner. Kicking the trolley, shoving her and screaming obscenities at her. I ditched the trolley I'd been pushing and stormed toward them, my mind blank of anything but ruthless fury.

The next part was like out of some stupid romance novel. Mr Kennedy pulled back on my arm and said, "No. There is no way you're going over there!" He took off the baby sling, handed it to me and sent me to go put the groceries and bab...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian-post-apocalyptic-utopian, young-adult, read-2011, training-schools-supernaturals, 2011-publication, action-packed, 2011-favorites, wishlist-find-arc-or-pb

3.5 stars Any book that arrives heavily hyped usually has a ton of marketing power behind it. Sure, there are critical reviews to consider, but these days consumers are more aware than ever of the dollars at stake behind book and film negotiations. Which means that there's a lot of pressure riding on any book to live up to its promise, particularly one that comes from a 23-year-old author who has already landed a 3-book deal and signed away the movie rights.

After so many big dollar and wearisome...more 3.5 stars Any book that arrives heavily hyped usually has a ton of marketing power behind it. Sure, there are critical reviews to consider, but these days consumers are more aware than ever of the dollars at stake behind book and film negotiations. Which means that there's a lot of pressure riding on any book to live up to its promise, particularly one that comes from a 23-year-old author who has already landed a 3-book deal and signed away the movie rights.

After so many big dollar and wearisome projects such as Halo or Matched, it's a pleasure to find that every once in awhile, there's a good reason behind the fanfare. Divergent is the fast-paced, action-packed story of 16-year-old Tris, who comes from one of the five factions in a dystopian Chicago. She must choose one of the factions--Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peacefulness), or Erudite (intelligence)--to live in and serve for the remainder of her life. Tris makes the decision to leave her old faction, Abenegation, in favor of Dauntless, and the majority of the book focuses on the dangerous trials that the new initiates must endure in order to find out whether they qualify to stay. Failure means living a factionless life--or death.

The very concept of the novel, however, asks that readers accept a fairly rigid framework for the story. This idea that human beings would sublimate their natural instincts to live in a society where a single virtue is promoted is pretty farfetched; it reminds me of various Star Trek alien races known for a single prevailing characteristic, but at least they are also usually presented along with certain instincts and behaviors that made sense. The division between the factions here doesn't really serve much of a purpose, and is simply explained away as people who chose a lifestyle based on differences in philosophy. Even within the factions, the doctrines don't really hold up under scrutiny--members of Dauntless, for example, are forever indulging in reckless, pointless exercises that are more about posturing than about testing their mettle.

But the thing is, the book is really fun to read. Most of the trials are pretty well thought-out, with scene after scene of nerve-wracking physical and mental tests. I liked the interplay between Tris' fellow initiates, who cautiously bond with each other but also have to look on each other as rivals, and I liked the mysterious and attractive Four, as well as the way her family members' characters eventually revealed themselves.

Tris herself I had a harder time connecting to, as she's physically very capable but mentally and emotionally it's more difficult to say whether she belongs on my "butt-kicking heroines" shelf. Some of her actions also ended up being more self-centered than I expected, mostly because I think the author was trying to show the change in Tris' morphing from Abegnation to Dauntless. But she and Four also make a huge tactical error at a crucial scene late in the book, which negates both Dauntless' philosophy and their training. I'm also not sure that several of the deaths later in the book had the appropriate emotional impact, though there were several other scenes that made me yelp. Let's just say that I gave my knife some pretty fishy looks at the dinner table last night. (view spoiler)

Still, I had a really good time reading this book, and there's a lot to be said for books that are just plain entertaining. Many of my fellow readers have major issues with the world-building and the plot holes, and I can't say that I disagree with most of the criticisms I've seen. It's certainly not in the same category as The Hunger Games; it's closer to light entertainers such as Blood Red Road or Legend, but I think we often do ourselves a disservice when we endlessly make those kinds of comparisons. It's always important to read with a critical eye--and it's true that with more attention to detail, this book might have been even better--but I don't feel that getting hung up on criticism or comparisons should get in the way of enjoying a book when so many of the other elements do work well. For me, the positives of this adventure outweigh the negatives and in the end, Divergent is still loads of fun to read. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes next!

This review also appears in The Midnight Garden.(less)

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Dec 06, 2011 Michelle, the Bookshelf Stalker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

12/6/11-
I can't believe this book was Favorite Book of 2011. I must not be part of the in-crowd! Oh well.

Review below...

I have questions. Once my questions are answered, maybe I'll move my overall ratings up from 2.5 stars to 3.5 stars. Here is the thing, If the world doesn't make sense to me, I'm not going to enjoy the book as much as I could enjoy it.

So, here are my questions-

Why, at the beginning, can Beatrice look in the mirror ONLY when her mom cuts her hair? What does her mom cutting her h...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Dd rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

WHOA!!Everyone....

And make way for this young kickass heroine...

Beatrice Prior.

'Those who want power and get it live in terror of losing it.That's why we have to give power to those who do not want it.'

Okay,so by now nearly everyone has read this book.This is a book which needs no introduction.So,I'll try to keep storyline short.
(As short as I can for a book of nearly 500 pages!)

This books depicts a dystopian Chicago world where the society is divided into five groups or factions as they call i...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Lyndsey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tour, my-top-dystopian-or-utopian, reviewed-2011

Everything that rises must Diverge.

Or that seems to be the philosophy of this book. Divergent poses that as a society progresses, it becomes more segregated, as opposed to more integrated. Likely? NO. Fun? HELL YES.

Does it smell like Hunger Games in here to you?

Check out the video for this Hunger Games parody at the end of the article Part Two of The Best YouTube Book Trailers.

Imagine a culture where everyone is separated into groups based on their one key defining character trait.

One of these f...more

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Jul 05, 2011 Kelly Leigh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, dystopian

Warning: I didn't enjoy this book, so the following are my gripes.

World building:
Right off the bat, I was left with many questions. I don't understand this world. I don't understand how the factionless - seeing how there's more of them - don't uprise. Um, that would be normal. It's going on now in Libya, happened in Egypt, just to name a few. And if they're factionless, many are probably Divergent, so that in itself should cause them to be stronger. Aside from that minor issue, I'm still not fo...more

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May 07, 2012 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers who like action, morals, and ambiguity in their dystopias

Shelves: dystopian-worlds-hells-and-cesspits, 2011-reads, could-have-been-better, should-have-loved-it-but-didn-t, left-me-feeling-drained, left-me-with-mixed-feelings, left-me-feeling-conflicted, failed-the-re-read-test, reviewed

(Cross-posted from The Book Lantern)

In the YA book world, 2011 is definitely shaping up to be the year of the dystopia. With the popularity and acclaim of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games trilogy, the young adult publishing world seemed to explode with all kinds of ideas for dystopias about oppression and chaos -- and publishers were all the more willing to oblige them due to the proven success of The Hunger Games.

One of the more hyped offerings, Divergent by Veronica Roth, has been gaining mo...more

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Dec 23, 2011 Steph Sinclair rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Dystopian fans

Shelves: dystopian, 2011-reads, action-packed, i-loved-it, i-need-to-buy-this-book, i-really-enjoyed-it, original-and-creative, surprised-me, 2-am-or-later, young-adult, omg-that-ending, oh-yeah-baby, 2011-favs

Whoa.

Breathe, Stephanie. Breathe.

This.Was.Good. It seems like every dystopian book that comes out now is being compared to The Hunger Games. Well, if there was ever a book that might come close to that comparison it would be Enclave and now Divergent.

Veronica Roth's debut novel Divergent is getting some major hype and you know what? I think it deserves it. It's no secret that I have a dystopian society book addiction right now, but Divergent is just what I love in a book. It had loads of actio...more

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Feb 28, 2011 Alexa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Shelves: arc, young-adult, 2011-reads, didnt-love-it-like-i-wanted, not-what-i-expected

My review can also be found on my blog Collections.

Divergent was my most anticipated book for 2011. I had high expectations and thought it would be a definite favorite of mine, with me giving it 6 stars and forcing everyone to read it. Now that I've actually read it... Did I love it? I liked it. Did it live up to my expectations? No, not quite.

Divergent sounded like it had everything I wanted. Action, romance, and memorable characters. I really liked the romance; it was enough for me. It's great...more
My review can also be found on my blog Collections.

Divergent was my most anticipated book for 2011. I had high expectations and thought it would be a definite favorite of mine, with me giving it 6 stars and forcing everyone to read it. Now that I've actually read it... Did I love it? I liked it. Did it live up to my expectations? No, not quite.

Divergent sounded like it had everything I wanted. Action, romance, and memorable characters. I really liked the romance; it was enough for me. It's great not having to worry about a love-triangle. Beatrice and Four were good characters. They stood out among the other characters in the book, and I loved that they could kick ass! The other characters, though, weren't as intriguing to me. I wanted to like them too, but by the end, I realized I didn't feel a connection with them. It's part of the reason why I don't believe the book lived up to my expectations.

As for the action, there was lots of it! I like action. With all that action and with Divergent being called a thriller, I was expecting heart-pounding, nail-biting moments that would leave me breathless and on the edge of my seat! I know some will disagree with me, but... I didn't find it to be that intense. Sure, I had no idea what would happen next, but any twist and turn that occurred didn't really shock or surprise me. If reading this book was a simulation (you'll read about simulations in the book), I would have owned! Because I felt pretty calm during most of the book. Even the death of certain characters didn't faze me. (Like I said, I didn't feel a connection with those characters, so that's probably the reason why I didn't have much of a reaction when they died.)

Maybe it's only me. Maybe I wasn't in the right state of mind when I read this book. Whatever it was, I just didn't get the intense, emotional feeling I wanted the most , out of everything else, from this book. It's the reason why I couldn't love it the way I wanted.

Overall, I enjoyed Divergent and would recommend it. This is a book I wouldn't mind reading again. It's really easy to get into. (I even want to reread it to see if I react differently.) Hopefully in the next book I find that feeling I missed because after what happened at the end of this book, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.(less)

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Mar 07, 2012 Meg ♥ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Meg ♥ by: Duchess Nicole

Shelves: e-books, z-2012-reads, favs

Must resist urge to pick apart all of the things I felt were wrong with this book, and accept it as the entertaining read it was. (Sorry, I can't do that).

This book was really good, but it is definitely not without flaws. I won't waste time with a summary. I think everyone who is interested in this book already knows the basic idea. Lets start with those things that bothered me. It will be quick and painless like ripping off a band-aid.

Tris. Wow this is one character that I could love one second...more
Must resist urge to pick apart all of the things I felt were wrong with this book, and accept it as the entertaining read it was. (Sorry, I can't do that).

This book was really good, but it is definitely not without flaws. I won't waste time with a summary. I think everyone who is interested in this book already knows the basic idea. Lets start with those things that bothered me. It will be quick and painless like ripping off a band-aid.

Tris. Wow this is one character that I could love one second and be extremely annoyed with the next. At one point she was unique, and then somehow she became a character that became indistinguishable from so many other YA heroines. That made me sad. For the most part, though, I liked her. I enjoyed most of her growth as a character, but I felt it was a little unrealistic that she gets the crap beat out of her in one single fight and then magically turns into an all-star fighter. Particularly when she is described as a small girl with the body of a 12 year old. Same thing with the ranks. I enjoyed watching her struggle in the beginning. She felt more real and I always love to root for the underdog. Too quickly, though, (in my opinion) she climbed the ranks and lost all originality.

The world building was lacking, the plot had several holes, and I truly felt no connection to any of the characters. Once the slew of deaths started happening I felt nothing. No attachment at all I was just like "Oh, that happened" another death "hmm okay" keep reading and move on. I'm aware that book two supposedly deals with her grief so maybe I will feel something with that, but this book was honestly so fast there wasn't time to develop any kind of attachment to the characters. One last thing. Dauntless was a group of complete morons. The things they did didn't make them "brave" in my opinion. I saw them more as stupid frat guys than the fearless group they were supposed to be.

Okay. Now that that is out of the way let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite all of that. The writing is so fast paced and action filled I didn't even have time to think about those things until I was done reading. The story moves very quickly, and for the most part keeps the reader engaged. For most of the story we are following Tris on her initiation into the Dauntless faction. She came from Abnegation which is a faction devoted to being selfless, and they run the government as well. Obviously life is different for her now and she needs to prove she's brave. Throw in an adorable guy who likes her despite the fact that she's supposedly not pretty and has the body of a twelve year old and here is the romance. It's cute how he doesn't care that she's not beautiful. Four is probably the best thing about this book. I also enjoyed how the author explored conquering fears. Above all else this is a fun book that is meant to be enjoyed without having to think. I'm glad so many others have been able to fall in love with this book, and not over think it like I have.

I mostly just wanted to read this one since book two is coming out soon, but I was surprised by how much I liked it. I will definitely be reading Insurgent, and I only hope she takes another stab at world building in this book. I would like to know more about how the factions started for one. Since this was a debut I am able to overlook some of the things that bothered me, but I doubt I will continue this series if Insurgent has the same issues.

Mostly everyone I know has already read this, but just in case I would recommend this to everyone looking for a action packed, fast paced dystopia that's fun and exciting. (less)

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Jan 26, 2012 Kira rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Robots

Recommended to Kira by: A robot

Shelves: ya, dystopian, could-have-been-worse, not-amazing-but-not-shit, lolwut, lost-the-will-to-live, made-me-want-to-choke-myself, made-no-sense, so-action-packed-i-peed, will-read-the-next-one

So the other night I wake up at like four a.m. with a splitting headache, itchy, weepy eyes and a stuffy nose. I open the window to try to clear it, y'know, as you do, but this is January in Canada and unless you want to give yourself hypothermia just to take your mind off the annoyance of having a cold, it's best not to leave the windows open for any length of time.

I lie back and swear to myself. What the hell? I've a presentation to give that day and screw it, I can't flake out and explain it...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Arlene rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Arlene by: Booker ARC Tour - Alexa Thank you!

Shelves: arc, read-2011, dystopic, ya-dystopic, gifted-to-me, young-adult

This book is totally WICKED!! I am, without a doubt, hooked. I want more… NOW!

Divergent by Veronica Roth is one of the more highly anticipated YA dystopic novels set to come out next month, so I’m very fortunate for my Street Corner Booker friend for sharing this great read with me on our ARC tour. Thank you Alexa!

I have to say, I had an absolute blast reading this wild ride of an adventure, and I enjoyed every minute of it. EVERY.SINGLE.MINUTE! I haven’t had this sort of rush since Katniss ent...more This book is totally WICKED!! I am, without a doubt, hooked. I want more… NOW!

Divergent by Veronica Roth is one of the more highly anticipated YA dystopic novels set to come out next month, so I’m very fortunate for my Street Corner Booker friend for sharing this great read with me on our ARC tour. Thank you Alexa!

I have to say, I had an absolute blast reading this wild ride of an adventure, and I enjoyed every minute of it. EVERY.SINGLE.MINUTE! I haven’t had this sort of rush since Katniss entered the Hunger Games and turned my world right side out! The characters, setting, plot, pace and narrative where perfectly blended to produce a highly action packed novel that I’m sure will captivate dystopia fans. I’ve found a series that will keep me eager for the coming releases, and I can’t wait to read more of Tris and her crew of Divergents!

The story takes place in an undermined future where the world is divided into factions, including Candor (honest), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (daring), Erudite (knowledgeable), and Amity (peaceful). Tris, our main character, has reached the age of sixteen where she is tested and placed in a faction that complements her intuition and character. As the story progresses and she chooses her path, it’s suddenly clear that she doesn’t quite fit in just one faction and that proves threatening for those controlling this perfect society because as a Divergent, she can’t easily be manipulated. What comes next is a continuous reveal of hidden agendas and power plays.

I loved to see how Tris evolved in the story. In the beginning, we get hints of her courage and intuition, and as she goes through her initiations her badassness explodes! There’s nothing I love more than female characters that can kick some serious ass! She was awesome.

Now I have to say, number Four took a while to grow on me, but eventually it happened. I like his tactile nature… one moment while I wipe the steam off of my glasses… :P I will have to say the reveal surrounding his name was a little underwhelming (view spoiler) but there was so much to this character that just took off after the second half and I found myself anticipating his scenes. Loved Four!

The final quarter of the book goes into high gear and the adrenaline rush is loaded with high octane power. This book did it right and I just can’t wait for the next release. This is one series that will find itself on my top shelf. LOVED.IT!

Thank you Alexa! <3 Nic, you're next! =]

>.<(less)

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Jun 02, 2011 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own-arc, books-i-own, favorites

WOW. WOW.... no really, just wow. Could not put it down... and I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!

One of my favorites books this year, no question about it!

I've been trying to write this review for the last two hours... and nothing is coming to mind but "AWESOME" and "WOW" and "WOW".... did I say wow? I apologize that this review is going to be incoherent, and mostly fangirly, but that's the state of mind this book has left me in! I'm in shock of its spectacular-ness. Is that even a word?

I'll admit...more

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Jan 04, 2012 TheDuchess rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This isn't a bad book but it has some serious faults. First, violence for the sake of violence is never interesting to me. What was the point of someone getting stabbed in the eye? It in no way advanced the plot. All the sexual harrasment and groping seemed over the top to me. Now to the fights, basically Tris learns how to fight like a badass in a week? Really? With no prior training or anything? Major side eye to that.
It's hard to write a strong and sympathetic heroine. Tris is cruel, even sh...more This isn't a bad book but it has some serious faults. First, violence for the sake of violence is never interesting to me. What was the point of someone getting stabbed in the eye? It in no way advanced the plot. All the sexual harrasment and groping seemed over the top to me. Now to the fights, basically Tris learns how to fight like a badass in a week? Really? With no prior training or anything? Major side eye to that.
It's hard to write a strong and sympathetic heroine. Tris is cruel, even she herself, admits it. Friends die and are forgotten instantly by her, she hits people when pissed and slams her fist on tables. The point is she isn't likable. Her sexual in securities help a bit since most females have experienced that at some point. Still, she isn't a likable or sympathetic heroine, but she isn't the worse out there. I really like that we don't have to deal with the plain heroine who is actually pretty trope and that earned this book an extra star. However, I personally prefer the hunger games route in this, don't mention whether the heroine is pretty or not but I suppose with Tris it helped explain her personal insecurities.
Also you don't kiss when you are bleeding all over and about to be executed. That is not normal human reaction because you are scared shitless. There is no way a boy you barely know's kiss can erase that fear.
The worst sin of all is that this book reeks of the hunger games which from reading the author's blog, I see she is fond off. Also, the way she killed off two important people at the ending was seriously random and felt contrived. They didnt need to die, and the way Tris brushed off their death and turned back to superhero girl, made me cut a star from this book.
The writing is top notch and this would have been a four star book if I didn't think all the violence and stunts felt very contrived to re-create the 'games' of The Hunger Games series. The problem is in that series Katniss was fighting for her sister's life, here Tris is going through these trials because she is SELFISH!
Oh the ending was so cheesy, I had to knock this to a 2 star. For everthing good, this book is too freaking long! 500 pages?! Sheesh(less)

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Apr 20, 2011 Phoebe added it · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreads-first-reads, young-adult, sci-fi, dystopian, action

Last night, I stumbled across a Facebook quiz where you can "discover your faction" a la Veronica Roth's upcoming debut Divergent. It was a clever piece of marketing and design, where you select options in a brief thought experiment until your single true faction becomes clear. I scored as Candor, of course, representing the faction in Roth's book which values honesty above all else. So of course, I'm going to be honest here in my review of the book.

That little test distilled what is, perhaps, t...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: huh, insane, just-okay, read-in-2011, seriously-didn-t-like, so-not-impressed, what-the-heck, addicted-to-ya

When I was finished this book I could only think of three things: Uwe Boll, Asylum Films, and the Sy-fy Channel. Yes, to me, it was that bad. It has everything that they like: Cold leader who excels at everything, even when she doesn't try. Violence and gore at every turn. Oppressive society. Tattoos. Injuries that come and go as they please. Etc, etc, etc.

Hmmm, where to start?? To start? To start? Haha, ring a bell? It does. It does. It does. I am brave! I am Dauntless!

Ok, I'll get serious now...more

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May 11, 2013 Palice Pottle rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who is capable of ignoring all the nonsense.

Recommended to Palice Pottle by: Goodreads. Ugh, why?

Shelves: chocolate-gimme-my-chocolate, could-ve-been-better, dissappointed, hate-a-female-character, hate-a-male-character, hate-most-characters, i-should-get-a-trophy-for-finishing, needs-cutting, shit-on-paper-i-tell-ya, utopia-and-dystopia, why-am-i-reading-this-shit

**There's no drawings for this one. I'm really sorry.**
You can also read this review here.

Bleh.

I procrastinated A LOT on writing a review for this. And that procrastination took me to Reading With A Vengeance’s Chapter by Chapter review of this book.

Let me tell you something. When I hate a book, I love reading snark for it. It makes me feel better, and it makes me glad that someone took the time to say all the things I was thinking, and said it better than I could’ve. But you know with this bo...more

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May 10, 2013 Kristalia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, heroine-must-die-painfully, series-which-i-abbandoned, kill-it-with-fire, annoying-characters, i-am-disappointed, mature-young-adult, boooooooring

FINAL RATING: ★/★★★★★

◉ So, i am in the mood of rewriting some old reviews i wrote. Divergent is one of them.◉

Once upon a time, one girl was so excited to read this book:

It did not end well.

Taken from Daughter of Smoke & Bone.

Many have been thrilled and hyper about this book. Which made me want to read it. And when i did, i was disappointed since i expected too much from it. Even my friends have rated this book 5 stars. With some exceptions who made me squeak with happiness because i wasn...more

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May 26, 2011 oliviasbooks rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, thriller, scifi-dystopian-apocalyptic, love-story-romance, read-2011, favorites-of-2011, scb-challenge-2011, debut, swapped-or-given-away

"Hunger Games meets Matrix?" This should be interesting!

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Jan 24, 2013 Abbi Glines added it · review of another edition

I'm not a big fan of dystopian but I LOVE THIS! Four is now my new book boyfriend. Well…. he is at least my back up in case I break up with Travis one day.

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Mar 30, 2012 Emily May rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia-utopia, ya-na, 2011

Okay, okay, I completely understand why people could really like this and also why people could find it a huge disappointment. As for the latter... well, this was one of the most highly anticipated works of dystopian fiction to be released this year and the fact of the matter is that it just really doesn't work as a dystopia. Or, at least, what seems to be the general definition of a dystopia.

I can highlight the problem really well by referring to a conversation I had with my mum when she saw t...more

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May 14, 2011 Lindsay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of The Hunger Games

Shelves: all-time-favorites, cover-lust, books-i-own, heart-pounding

When people started calling this book the new follow up to the Hunger Games, I became weary. Especially with all the Hype around the blogosphere. As an Avid Reader, half of me gets really excited when people rave about a book and the other half of me freaks out. Because with Hype, you never know if its going to be a book you love or a book you hate. There are times when I read a book and think 'Wow, people are right. This book is FUMAZING!' while others just disappoint me to the point of sadness or anger. But I decided to take a risk by reading this book, and thank god I did.

Divergent tells the story of Beatrice "Tris" Prior and her journey into choosing the faction she will live with for the rest of her life. I have to say, that Veronica Roth's originality is skyrocketing. For a debut author, she has done a fabulous job with her writing. The idea that there are five factions that determine where you live is just genius. There's Dauntless for bravery, Amity for peace, Erudite for knowledge, Abnegation for selflessness, and Candor for honesty.

If it were my choice, I would live in Dauntless. Yes its dangerous, its frightening, its insane. But I feel like I can really relate to Tris because she's so realistic. I mean, I would have chosen Dauntless too. I might have originally would have started as an Erudite but I'd like to face my fears. I absolutely love Four too. Deep in my heart, I loved him despite his faults and I was SO surprised when I found out who he really was. Seriously, those two are absolutely amazing.

The only problem I had with this book was the ending. Seriously, it wasn't just the cliffhanger ending, I just felt it was a little blah. Like, instead of giving us something amazing, we were only given a little piece of the idea and that made me sad because now we have to wait another YEAR for the sequel.

Overall, I loved this book! The plot was heart pounding, the characters were amazing, and I'm absolutely dying for the sequel. Veronica Roth has really started something spectacular and I am anxious to get my hands on the next book.

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars(less)

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About Veronica Roth

Veronica Roth is from a Chicago suburb. She studied creative writing at Northwestern University, and wrote DIVERGENT (Katherine Tegen Books, May 2011) and INSURGENT (May 2012). The third and final book in The Divergent Trilogy, ALLEGIANT, will come out on October 22, 2013. In the meantime she will spend endless hours browsing Wikipedia in her pajamas as she eats corn flakes. (Or some other kind of...more

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Free Four: Tobias Tells the Story (Divergent, #1.5)

The Divergent Series 2-Book Collection (Divergent, #1-2)

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Quotes from Divergent

“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” — 4,747 people liked it

“I might be in love with you." He smiles a little. "I'm waiting until I'm sure to tell you, though.” — 3,420 people liked it

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